by W. J. May
“That's good to hear.” She closed her eyes and inhaled a long breath, letting it out slowly. She stood slowly. “I need to find Devon.”
Philip helped her down and signaled to the protesting attendee. “If she wants out, she's fine,” he told him. He leaned close so only she would hear. “He brought you here and went back to help Alfie.”
“And Lenny?”
A hard look crossed the prince's eyes. “Taken care of.”
“What about Maria?”
“Who?”
Rae swallowed and pretended to need a moment to catch her breath. If Devon hadn't said anything about Maria, she wasn't about to spill the beans. “May I talk to Sarah?”
“Of course.”
She walked over on shaky legs, each step growing stronger. Philip cleared Sarah's ambulance so Rae could talk to her alone.
“You okay?” Sarah asked.
Rae smiled and rubbed her head. The bump was the size of a golf ball and still hurt to touch. “I need to see Charles. He's got such an awesome tatù.”
“Charles?” Sarah repeated.
Rae sat on the edge of Sarah's stretcher and spoke quietly. “He's got this amazing healing tatù. It could fix me up in a jiffy. Sorry, it only works on the person carrying the tatù; it wouldn't fix you.”
“I'm doing all right.” Sarah fixed the emerald skirting of her dress.
“Did Devon come back with Maria?”
Sarah shook her head.
“She attacked me. I think she was working with Lenny.”
Sarah sighed. “I don't understand. Why would Lenny want to hurt me?”
“He told me it was because of your ability. Apparently there is some secret, unwritten law that King Henry created. He started the King's Guard to protect the throne. It's sworn that no tatù will ever sit on the throne of England.” Rae sighed with the heavy news. “Others will continue to attack should you become the Queen of England.”
The ambulance shifted as Philip stepped inside. “No one will ever hurt Sarah.”
Rae watched as Philip squeezed by her to sit on the floor beside Sarah, holding her hand. “I don't know if you can stop them.” She glanced at Sarah, torn by the silent tears that coursed down Sarah's cheeks. “There are more, hidden in secret. You'll never be able to find them all. We wouldn't be able to find them.”
“What has Sarah done?”
“Nothing.” Rae pressed her lips together. “It's what she represents.”
“I don't understand.”
Sarah gently touched his cheek. “Let's not worry about it now.”
Philip brought his hand to hers and kissed her fingers. “I'll worry about your safety always.”
Sarah burst into tears. “It's complicated.”
“If we married, you will always be in danger?”
She nodded. “So would you. I can't risk your life.”
“What if I wasn't king? Would you be safe then?”
Rae needed to find Devon. This intimate conversation was meant for the two of them, not her. “I need to find Devon.” If Sarah told Philip the truth, she wouldn't blame her. She was pretty sure she would do the same thing. “Will you be all right?”
Philip nodded. “There are guards Alfie selected to stay with us. We're fine.”
Rae patted Sarah's leg and turned to go. She wished she didn't hear the word's Philip whispered to Sarah.
“I'd abdicate the throne for you, my love. If it meant protecting you, I would do it in a heartbeat. My brother can be king. No throne is worth your life.”
Rae quickened her pace.
A man dressed in clothes similar to Alfie stopped her. “Ma'am?”
Rae hesitated, ready to blow the man with a gust of wind if he tried anything.
“Mister Wardell asked me to keep an eye out for you. He wanted to let you know he would be in the coat check room.”
“The coat check?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, thanks.” Rae didn't miss the smirk on the man's face as he turned his attention back to the ambulance. It pricked at her brain. Was he smirking because of the message he'd delivered to her, or because Sarah was in the ambulance? “Which part of the Queen's Guard are you with?”
He looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
Rae turned a stony face and took up a firm stance as she faced the guard down. For reasons she didn't quite understand, she felt the need to confirm this guard's loyalty. “Lenny or Alfie?”
He blinked at her, completely caught off guard.
He's team Alfie. “Forget it.” She hurried off to find the coat check - which had obviously been the reason for the guard's smirk, although she had no idea why.
Inside the building, she headed to the coat check, which happened to be before the security check. The Masquerade continued like nothing had happened to disrupt it. No one knew, not even the media that had been there earlier madly snapping photos of the people in their costumes.
The coat room was empty except for the rows and rows of coats. She was about to leave when she noticed a small amount of light shining on the floor. A partially hidden door. She moved to it and stuck her ear against it to see if she heard Devon's voice.
“I don't know what happened, sir.” Devon's voice portrayed the frustration he must have been feeling.
Rae opened the door and slipped inside. “Oh!” fell out of her mouth when she noticed Carter standing in the almost bare room, with Devon and a heavily bonded Maria, who glared and thrashed from her chair. Her eyes were wild.
“Rae!” Carter smiled and then frowned. “That's some bump.”
“What's wrong with her?” Rae asked, ignoring the comment.
Carter glanced at Maria. “Brainwashed. Completely under the influence of your father's device.”
“What?” It seemed she was saying that word a lot these days.
“We don't know how or when but the signs are all there.” Carter turned to Maria. “Who did this to you?”
She spat at Carter, hitting him in the face. Carter pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped his face. He shook his head. “She can't move her arms or legs but that head of hers won't stop.” He closed his eyes and pressed his hands to his temple. “And she won't stop yelling at me inside my head.”
Two could play at that game. Where's Curtis? Rae asked Maria. She repeated the question louder. Where's Curtis? Is he in on this with you? Is he the one who brainwashed you MARIA! Look at me!!
Maria's head swiveled toward Rae. She grinned wickedly, not looking like Maria at all.
Rae stepped back even though she knew Maria couldn't physically hurt her. “Has anyone been looking for Curtis?”
“Oh shit!” Devon pulled his tuxedo jacket off and came toward Rae. “Curtis helped dismantle the brainwashing machine. What if he's the one who put it back together?”
“He's a good guy,” Carter said, not sounding entirely convinced.
“So was Lanford,” Rae added quietly. Brainwashing came in all different forms when her father was involved.
“He's gone. He stopped communicating back when Maria showed up inside the hall.” Devon moved toward the door.
“He probably helped Maria get inside.” Rae couldn't believe what was happening.
“Check the van. See if there's anything in there.” Carter turned back to Maria. “I'm going to ask you one more time, who did this to you?”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Rae asked Devon. He hesitated a moment and the memory of him kissing her flooded Rae's thoughts. She touched her lips. How could she have forgotten?
“Stay with Carter. Try to get through to Maria.”
Devon disappeared through the door.
Maria giggled and then burst out laughing. “You people are beyond stupid! Put the tazor back on me and let's settle this properly.”
Carter loosened his tie. “That's not going to happen Maria.”
“Then torture Curtis, see if he speaks.”
The conversation went back and forth betwe
en the three of them with no progress. Carter jumped when Devon threw open the door, dragging a bound and gagged Curtis in behind him.
“What the hell?” Carter sighed. “How much more can we botch up this evening?”
“It's how I found him, sir.” Devon pulled Curtis beside him.
Curtis began pointing and mumbling through the duct tape on his mouth. He grew more agitated by the moment.
“He's pointing at Maria.” Rae stepped forward and ripped the tape off his face.
“Ow!!” he shouted as his face burned red where the tape had been. He barely drew in a breath before he was spewing words again. “She did this! She tied me up.”
Maria rolled her eyes. “You planned everything, and then tied yourself up to make it look like you were a victim.”
“I did not!”
“Liar!”
“Enough!” Carter bellowed. Then looked sheepishly at Rae and Devon. “The room's sound proof.”
“We are wasting time here!” Rae rested her hand on the back of Curtis' neck. Show me what happened.
The skin-to-skin contact set the memory in motion. An image appeared of Curtis working in the van. Rae peered in through the window to watch. Maria jumped up suddenly and told Curtis that Devon and Rae were in trouble. That they needed her inside the building. Curtis turned around to get Maria something, and she hit him with a needle similar to the one Lenny had injected in Rae. As he went down, Maria set to work on tying him up and gagging him. Rae jumped to hide by the tire of the van when Maria opened the back door and headed inside the building.
Rae let go of Curtis. “Untie him.”
“Excuse me?” Carter asked.
“Untie him. He's not working with her. I saw it for myself. You can do the same thing, Carter. See for yourself.”
Carter did. A moment later he too stepped back and shook his head. “She set him up.”
Rae dropped into the only other chair in the room and rubbed her wrists. They burned from earlier, and her head hurt. She didn't have much energy left to fight this one out. She resisted the urge to put her head down on her knees.
Devon began to cut the ropes around Curtis.
Carter had other plans. He grabbed Maria's hands, only to slap them away a moment later. “I can't get through. She just keeps screaming at me and blocking anything I try to dig through.”
Curtis walked around Maria. “Is she sedated?”
“Tazored. Can't move anything but her head until we figure this out.” Devon sighed.
“I think I can stop the brainwashing.”
Carter's head shot up. “Really?”
“I've been working on it back in my lab. It'll erase everything that happened while she was brainwashed. I've tried to search for the memories with my tatù, but they never come back.”
“Do it.” Carter ran his fingers through his hair. “Whatever it takes. She's dangerous like this.”
“We won't be able to find out who brainwashed her.”
Carter sighed. “I don't think we have a choice.” He pulled his phone out of his suit pocket and checked it. “Curtis, you and I will take Maria back. Devon, can you take Rae outside? There's someone waiting to see her. You two need to be here another week. There's still too much going on, and it's unsafe to leave Sarah unprotected.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who's here to see me?” Rae pushed herself up and held onto the chair to stop the room from spinning.
“Charles. I sent him up so you can get his tatù back.”
Thank goodness. She didn't argue and let Devon lead her out of the room. She looked at Maria one last time, hoping her friend would be there the next time she saw her… If she ever saw her again. The odd comments and actions from Maria clicked into place. Rae stopped for a moment at the door. “Could this have happened when Maria was in the hospital?”
“It's possible.” Carter picked up his phone and began ordering another ambulance, with PC members as its crew.
“Come on, Rae.” Devon opened the door, and they stepped into the coat room.
She let him lead her outside. She closed her eyes when the cool, fresh air hit her face, but only had a split second to enjoy it before a familiar voice intruded.
“Rae!”
Molly. Do I have the energy for her right now? Rae forced a smile on her face and turned to where the shout had come from.
Molly stood on the grass to their right with Charles. She beamed as they headed over. “Guess who I bumped into.”
Charles nodded at Devon and reached for Rae's hand. “You look like crap.”
Rae felt the zing of his tatù zip through her and the healing instantly began. Her headache lifted and when she touched her forehead; she could feel the big bump going down. The burning itch on her wrists went away. She smiled and twirled in her dress. Then swung around and hugged him tight. “I really missed you!”
Charles laughed. “Me, or my tatù?” He coughed. “Bit too tight, Rae.”
She let go of him and stepped back, grinning. “Whoops. Sorry!”
Molly laughed. “Looks like your dress handled tonight's action better than you did.”
Charles whistled. “No. I'd say she handled it pretty well.” He shook Devon's hand. “I hear you have one hell of a story to tell us.”
“We do! Maybe we should go back inside and make sure everything's all right. Sample the beer and drinks. I could use one.” Devon gestured at his tuxedo. “I'm dressed for the occasion. You're in a suit, close enough for me.”
Molly's phone rang from inside her purse. She fumbled through her purse, trying to find it. The noise stopped when she finally pulled it out and handed it to Rae. “It's yours. It's been ringing all night. You forgot it at my place this afternoon when you changed.”
Rae looked down at the list of missed calls and text messages. It began ringing again.
All the messages and calls were from Luke.
A memory of Devon's frantic words, before she passed out earlier, whispered in her head; You are my heart. My whole heart. Had he actually said that or had she just dreamed the words up?
She put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Rae! Finally! You okay?” Luke's usual happy tone held a note of worry.
“I'm okay. Busy night.”
“Tell me about it! You won't believe me if I told you.”
She could say the same thing. “I'm, uh, kind of busy right now.”
“You working?”
“Yes.” She looked at Devon and quickly averted her eyes down to the grass. Why did everything suddenly feel so complicated? “What's up?”
“I found something out about your mother.”
Rae straightened. “What? What did you find?”
“I think I may have just lost my job.”
Oh no. What had she done, asking him to dig into something that was obviously meant to be hidden? If he got hurt, or worse, killed, it would be on her.
Luke gave a low chuckle. “Don't you worry. I can take care of myself. Plus, I think you're worth it.”
Rae stole a glance at Devon again, but curiosity made her blurt out, “What did you find? What's so worth losing your job over?”
“A box.”
“A box?”
“Let me back up a sec… So, I started looking for stuff on your mom. Nothing in classified or places I shouldn't be. It didn't matter. After a few searches on the computer with your mom's name, I found a file on your mom. Just stuff about her connection with your dad. Not much else. So I went into the paper archives. Like a rolodex. Didn't know they even still existed. Okay, here is the interesting part. I found a note with a file number. The number refers to a serial code for items in the evidence locker.”
Rae was scared to exhale. “What did you find?” she whispered.
“It took me two days to find the evidence box because it's in an old warehouse. Then it took longer because someone mislabelled the box.
Her heart thundered against her rib cage. Cops kept evidence boxes for murder
s and crimes. “Did it say my mom was dead?” She wanted to cry but bit her lip to hold it back.
“No. At least there is nothing inside the files to say so.” Luke sounded surprised Rae would even jump to that conclusion. “I did find papers and a small container, like a chest.”
“What was inside it?”
“That's why I've been calling you. I can't open it. I've tried and tried. It needs a key, but it's not in the evidence box.”
The phone slipped from Rae's hand and fell onto the grass. She heard Luke calling, “Rae! Rae!” She watched Devon turn around and come back to her, saw him bend down to pick up her phone and hold it out to her.
She stood frozen on the grass, dressed like a princess with two Prince Charmings wanting to rescue her.
She slowly took the phone from Devon's outstretched hand and pressed it to her ear. She couldn't speak, however inside her head, her inner voice screamed. I have the key! I have the key!
Whatever was inside that chest, her mother planted it there. She wanted Rae to find it. “I have the key. How fast can you get to London?”
THE END!
Book 5 – Under Fire
The Chronicles of Kerrigan
Under Fire
By
Copyright 2015 by W.J. May
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